A Salmonella Warning for Vegetarians

Contaminated meat and poultry are the usual suspects in salmonella food poisoning, and increasingly the bacteria is cropping up in produce. Now scientists have traced a large outbreak of salmonella to an unusual source: tempeh, the popular meat substitute.

The outbreak sickened nearly 100 people in five states last year, including many in North Carolina. A study, published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, found that the tempeh had been made with tainted ingredients imported from Indonesia.

Tempeh, made from fermented soybeans, is typically pasteurized and cooked before consumption. But in this case, the tempeh was unpasteurized and made with a tainted starter culture. The company that makes the culture has since voluntarily recalled their products.